> Sony filed patent 2012-182194 for a curved image sensor that will improve the sharpness in the corners of the image. Nikon filed similar patent two years ago.

Great idea!

I sincerely hope that will not require a new lens mount…

Joseph

Considering that any camera with a curved sensor would inherently not be able to use lenses designed for a flat sensor, why would it matter?

http://immaginatore.blogspot.it/ Alessandro

“Considering that any camera with a curved sensor would inherently not be able to use lenses designed for a flat sensor, why would it matter?”

I’m not so sure about it, after all sensors with microlenses like the ones on Leica cameras work with legacy glass as well. I think it all depends on how curved it is.

I agree tho that in order to maximize its capability it would require special optical designs

Sky_walker

I’m not sure if you really understand.
Such sensor won’t be used with ILC cameras. It’s for compacts, most likely only compacts with Primes, but to a degree compacts with zoom lenses using curved sensor are possible as well (although not super-zooms).

Bondi Beach

Kinda interesting about the curved sensors.. but wouldn’t this be best suited only for a prime lens of approximately the right focal length for the curvature of the sensor? If so, that would then imply that shorter lenses would still need to be retrofocus (with all the additional abberations and distortion implied by those designs), and longer lenses would need to be metrofocus (lol – what is the correct word of an anti-telephoto – as in having a focussing group which makes it look to the sensor that light is coming from a much shorter focal length lens that it really is?) in order for the light to hit the sensor at the correct angle.

http://genotypewritings.blogspot.com genotypewriter

lol @ metrofocus

I think the reason for this is, the variation from perfect flatness is higher than the variation from an arbitrary (and constant) curvature. As in maybe they can get lenses to create images that are curved to a known amount better than getting them perfectly flat. So making the sensor curved to that shape means less (overall) error.

The short lenses needing to be retrofocus is mostly due to flange distance restrictions. Retrofocus isn’t as bad as it used to be back in the day… it also helps with reducing vignetting.

John

Yep – you understand what’s going on!
Almost all lenses suffer from field curvature, so you might as well have a curved sensor that is closer to the typical design.

Or you might design a curved sensor with some dedicated lens designs that take advantage of it. You pay a lot for a lens with no field curvature . . .

FMJ

i will be buying the 24mm F2.8 for sure, NEX mount please, can’t afford the Zei$$, and don’t need F1.8.

do’nt know why the repeat the 30mm F2.8 thou….

Scurvy Curvy

> Sony filed patent 2012-182194 for a curved image sensor that will improve the sharpness in the corners of the image. Nikon filed similar patent two years ago.

So it took Sony only two years to copy a Nikon design?
Watch out, Nikon! They are getting closer!

scnr

Adam Does Movies

Sony makes Nikon’s sensors, actually.

kgelner

Can’t make your lenses work well? Bend the sensors to fit. The first camera to work better with the kit lens than expensive glass.